National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration 2010 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

NMFS is prohibiting retention of Pacific cod in the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands Management Area (BSAI) by vessels participating in the Amendment 80 limited access fisheries. This action is necessary to prevent exceeding the 2010 total allowable catch (TAC) of Pacific cod in the BSAI.

NMFS apportions amounts of the non-specified reserve to the initial total allowable catch of Pacific ocean perch in the Bering Sea subarea of the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands management area. This action is necessary to allow fishing operations to continue. It is intended to promote the goals and objectives of the fishery management plan for the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands management area.

On October 1, 2010, NMFS published a Notice of Intent to prepare a Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (PEIS) on Recovery Actions for Hawaiian monk seals (75 FR 60721). Public comments were due by November 15, 2010. NMFS has decided to allow additional time for submission of public comments on this action.

The NOAA Office of Ocean and Coastal Resource Management (OCRM) announces its intent to evaluate the performance of the Louisiana Coastal Resources Management Program and the Jobos Bay (Puerto Rico), Rookery Bay (Florida), and Chesapeake Bay (Maryland) National Estuarine Research Reserves. The Coastal Zone Management Program evaluation will be conducted pursuant to section 312 of the Coastal Zone Management Act of 1972, as amended (CZMA) and regulations at 15 CFR part 923, subpart L. The CZMA requires continuing review of the performance of states with respect to coastal program implementation. Evaluation of a Coastal Management Program requires findings concerning the extent to which a state has met the national objectives, adhered to its Coastal Management Program document approved by the Secretary of Commerce, and adhered to the terms of financial assistance awards funded under the CZMA. The National Estuarine Research Reserve evaluations will be conducted pursuant to sections 312 and 315 of the CZMA and regulations at 15 CFR part 921, subpart E and part 923, subpart L. Evaluation of a National Estuarine Research Reserve requires findings concerning the extent to which a state has met the national objectives, adhered to its Reserve final management plan approved by the Secretary of Commerce, and adhered to the terms of financial assistance awards funded under the CZMA. Each evaluation will include a site visit, consideration of public comments, and consultations with interested Federal, state, and local agencies and members of the public. A public meeting will be held as part of the site visit. When the evaluation is completed, OCRM will place a notice in the Federal Register announcing the availability of the Final Evaluation Findings. Notice is hereby given of the dates of the site visits for the listed evaluations, and the dates, local times, and locations of the public meetings during the site visits. Dates and Times: The Louisiana Coastal Resources Management Program evaluation site visit will be held January 3-7, 2011. One public meeting will be held during the week. The public meeting will be held on Monday, January 3, 2011, at 6:30 p.m. in the Griffon Room, LaSalle Building, Capitol Complex, 617 North 3rd Street, Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The Jobos Bay (Puerto Rico) National Estuarine Research Reserve evaluation site visit will be held January 24-28, 2011. One public meeting will be held during the week. The public meeting will be held on Tuesday, January 25, 2011, at 5 p.m. at the Jobos Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve Visitors' Center, Road 705, Kilometer 2.3, Main Street, Aguirre, Puerto Rico. The Rookery Bay (Florida) National Estuarine Research Reserve evaluation site visit will be held January 24-28, 2011. One public meeting will be held during the week. The public meeting will be held on Wednesday, January 26, 2011, at 6:30 p.m. at the Rookery Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve Environmental Learning Center, 300 Tower Road, Naples, Florida. The Chesapeake Bay (Maryland) National Estuarine Research Reserve evaluation site visit will be held January 24-28, 2011. One public meeting will be held during the week. The public meeting will be held on Tuesday, January 25, 2011, at 7 p.m. at the McCann Center, Jug Bay Wetlands Sanctuary, 1361 Wrighton Road, Lothian Maryland.

The Catch Share Panel of the Caribbean Fishery Management Council will hold a public meeting to discuss the issues contained in the enclosed agenda.

In December 2010, we (NMFS) will hold two public hearingsone in Wilmington, NC and one in Atlanta, GA. The purpose of these hearings is to accept comments on the proposed listing of the Carolina and South Atlantic distinct population segments (DPSs) of Atlantic sturgeon (Acipenser oxyrinchus oxyrinchus) as endangered under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) of 1973, as amended.

NMFS, upon application from the U.S. Navy (Navy), is issuing regulations to govern the unintentional taking of marine mammals incidental to activities conducted in the Northwest Training Range Complex (NWTRC), off the coasts of Washington, Oregon, and northern California, for the period of October 2010 through October 2015. The Navy's activities are considered military readiness activities pursuant to the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA), as amended by the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2004 (NDAA). These regulations, which allow for the issuance of ``Letters of Authorization'' (LOAs) for the incidental take of marine mammals during the described activities and specified timeframes, prescribe the permissible methods of taking and other means of effecting the least practicable adverse impact on marine mammal species or stocks and their habitat, as well as requirements pertaining to the monitoring and reporting of such taking.

NMFS has received a petition to designate the Eastern North Pacific population of gray whales (Eschrichtius robustus) as a depleted stock under the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA). In accordance with the MMPA, NMFS is announcing the receipt of the petition and its availability for public review and is soliciting comments on the petition.

Notice is hereby given that the Northwest Fisheries Science Center (NWFSC, Dr. M. Bradley Hanson, Principal Investigator), 2725 Montlake Blvd. East, Seattle, Washington 98112-2097, has applied for an amendment to Scientific Research Permit No. 781-1824-01.

The New England Fishery Management Council's (Council) Herring Committee will meet to consider actions affecting New England fisheries in the exclusive economic zone (EEZ).

The Department of Commerce, as part of its continuing effort to reduce paperwork and respondent burden, invites the general public and other Federal agencies to take this opportunity to comment on proposed and/or continuing information collections, as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995.

NMFS has designated the states of Rhode Island, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Washington, and Guam as exempted states for anglers, spear fishers and for-hire fishing vessels. NMFS has designated the state of Maryland as an exempted state for for-hire fishing vessels pursuant to 50 CFR 600.

NMFS, Alaska Region, will present a workshop on seaLandings, a consolidated electronic means of reporting landings and production of commercial groundfish to multiple management agencies for Federal and State fisheries off Alaska, and 2011 recordkeeping and reporting requirements for the Alaska groundfish fisheries and Individual Fishing Quota fisheries.

Notice is hereby given that the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), U.S. Department of Commerce, has designated certain lands and waters of the St. Louis River freshwater estuary in Wisconsin as the Lake Superior National Estuarine Research Reserve. On October 19, 2010, Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere Dr. Jane Lubchenco signed a record of decision pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act and a findings of designation for the Lake Superior National Estuarine Research Reserve in Wisconsin pursuant to Section 315 of the Coastal Zone Management Act of 1972, as amended, 16 U.S.C. Section 1461, and its implementing regulations at 15 CFR Part 921. The Reserve duly received certification from the State of Wisconsin Coastal Program that Reserve designation is consistent to the maximum extent practicable with its program. A copy of the official Record of Decision is available for public review from NOAA's Office of Ocean and Coastal Resource Management at the address below.

The Department of Commerce, as part of its continuing effort to reduce paperwork and respondent burden, invites the general public and other Federal agencies to take this opportunity to comment on proposed and/or continuing information collections, as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995.

The Pacific Fishery Management Council's (Council's) Ad Hoc Groundfish Essential Fish Habitat Review Committee (EFHRC) will hold a work session, which is open to the public, to plan the periodic 5-year review of groundfish Essential Fish Habitat (EFH).

NOAA publishes this notice to extend the final application solicitation period for the Fiscal Year 2011 CRCP International Coral Reef Conservation Cooperative Agreements. The original solicitation, which was announced in the Federal Register on July 16, 2010, gave an incorrect final application due date of February 21, 2011. This notice corrects that error by extending the final application period for this program until February 22, 2011. As the original announcement states, final applications will be accepted ONLY from those pre-applicants who are invited to submit a final application.

This proposed action would establish the 2011-2012 harvest specifications and management measures for groundfish taken in the U.S. exclusive economic zone (EEZ) off the coasts of Washington, Oregon, and California consistent with the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act and the Pacific Coast Groundfish Fishery Management Plan (PCGFMP). This action revises the collection of management measures in the groundfish fishery regulations that are intended to keep the total catch of each groundfish species or species complex within the harvest specifications. This action also includes regulations to implement Amendments 16-5 and 23 to the PCGFMP. Amendment 16-5 would revise existing rebuilding plans, create a new rebuilding plan for Petrale sole, which was declared overfished on February 9, 2010, and revise status determination criteria and a harvest control rule for flatfish. This action is consistent with and partially implements Amendment 23 to the PCGFMP. Amendment 23 would make the PCGFMP consistent with the revised National Standard 1 Guidelines (74 FR 3178, January 16, 2009).

Notice is hereby given that the NMFS National Marine Mammal Laboratory (NMML), Seattle, WA (Responsible Party: John Bengton, Ph.D.), has been issued a minor amendment to Permit No. 14326.

This final rule corrects trip limits for commercial groundfish fisheries through the end of 2010 to reflect recent changes that were implemented on October 4, 2010. This final rule is necessary to ensure that the correct trip limit tables remain effective after November 1, 2010.

NMFS announces the availability of a 5-year review of the U.S. DPS of smalltooth sawfish (Pristis pectinata) as required by the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (ESA). The U.S. DPS of smalltooth sawfish is listed as endangered under the ESA. Based on the best available scientific and commercial data, our 5-year review indicates that the U.S. DPS of smalltooth sawfish should remain listed as endangered species because it is in danger of extinction throughout its range. Therefore, the 5-year review recommends no change in listing.

The New England Fishery Management Council (Council) will hold a three-day meeting on Tuesday through Thursday, November 16-18, 2010 to consider actions affecting New England fisheries in the exclusive economic zone (EEZ).

Notice is hereby given that individuals and institutions have been issued Letters of Confirmation for activities conducted under the General Authorization for Scientific Research on marine mammals. See SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION for a list of names and addresses of recipients.

The North Pacific Fishery Management Council's (NPFMC) Gulf of Alaska (GOA) and Bering Sea/Aleutian Islands (BS/AI) Groundfish plan teams will meet in Seattle, WA.

The Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council's (MAFMC) Summer Flounder Monitoring Committee, Scup Monitoring Committee, Black Sea Bass Monitoring Committee, and the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Council's and the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission's Sumer Flounder, Scup, and Black Sea Bass Advisors will hold public meetings.